God Wants Us to Be Busy While We Wait

GOSPEL

Matthew 24:36–44

Jesus describes his second coming as a sudden, unexpected event that will bring salvation or judgment upon people caught up in the usual affairs of daily life. He urges people to be alert and expectant. 

Jesus tells his disciples, ³⁶But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³⁷For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴²Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. 

Please pray with me:  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts together be pleasing to you oh Lord, our rock and our redeemer.  Amen 

Gospel Message

God Wants Us to Be Busy While We Wait

December 1, 2013

Matthew 24:36-44

Prognosticators have been predicting the end of time since…well, the beginning of time.  One of the popular sources for such a prediction which received a lot of attention in our house last year was the Mayan Calendar.  Our son Joseph was convinced the Mayans had it right and the world was going to end on December 21, 2012 (it also happened to be Joseph’s 23^rd birthday).  So convinced was he that he had created a plan should the world end; a plan where we would all gather and head to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and rendezvous at his dad’s girlfriend’s home.  But not before getting his brother from Boise and picking up his girlfriend in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and picking up my kids on the way through Illinois.  He was adamant to say the least that the end was upon us… not particularly rational… but sincerely adamant.  After all he had no good explanation of why we would need to go to Pennsylvania especially since if it were the end of the world Susie and I had no plans of being on earth at all. 

The Mayans did not know, Joseph didn’t know and as we learn in our Gospel text no one knows the day in which Jesus returns. Jesus tells us in vs. 36, “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. “ 

Yes, Jesus is telling us to be ready, just like any good Boy Scout who is to “Be Prepared”, we are to be prepared for his return, but he doesn’t want us simply standing idly by nor does he want us constantly looking over our shoulder for his return. 

He wants us to be about ministry and mission.  He wants us to be busy in sharing the Good News and in bringing others to him.  He wants us to be living Christ-like, being Christ-like and working to be Christ to others.

As a society we get really wrapped up in the planning and preparation for Christmas. In decorating, gift buying, doing craft projects, baking, writing Christmas cards, there are parties to attend, meals to plan and travel to organize and how dare they make Thanksgiving so late this year, giving us one less weekend to get it all done.  Oh, and we need to work into our schedules; school Christmas concerts, recitals and advent services and the church Christmas program.   

While many of us have been preparing for months for Christmas, the time of preparation in the church begins today, the first Sunday of the church year… the first Sunday in Advent. 

So here we sit, the church is decorated to the nine’s, one candle is lit on the Advent Wreath and the countdown to Christmas has begun.  We now have twenty-three days remaining to get it all done; all that buying, wrapping, card writing, crafting, party planning, concert attending and baking which I mentioned earlier. Busy?  I can’t begin to tell ‘ya.   

The season of rejoicing in the birth of our King has become the season of over using our credit cards, the season of over extending our schedules, and the season of over anxious stress.  And because of all of this, many of us just want it all simply to be over. 

Listen to this parody of the Christmas season that I read this past week:

"And there were in the same country children keeping watch over there stockings by the fireplace.

And lo! And was said unto them `Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that is for all people who can afford them.  

For there will be given great feasts of turkey, dressing and cake; and many presents; and this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the presents, wrapped in bright paper, lying beneath a tree adorned with tinsel, colored balls and lights.  

And suddenly, there will be with you a multitude of relatives and friends, praising you and saying, `thank you so much, it was just what I wanted’  

And it shall come to pass as the friends and relatives have gone away to their own homes, the parents shall say to one another, what a mess to clean up! I’m tired, let’s go to bed and pick it up tomorrow. Thank goodness, Christmas only comes once a year!’ And they go with haste to their cold bed and find their desired rest." 

Whoa!  Let’s back up the truck. We have lost our focus, lost our minds and lost our way in preparing for Christmas.  We have allowed the non-secular world to take over a very secular time of the year. How is it we can spend so much time and energy in doing all of the preparations for Christmas and leave Christ out of it.  Have we become so focused on the gifts which money can buy that we have forgotten the gift which comes to each of us at no cost to us, the gift of salvation which comes to us in a lowly manger in the form of an infant?  We must come to realize it is the greatest gift which we have to give. 

The Advent season provides us with an opportunity to reflect on this, God’s greatest gift to us, time to be active in sharing the gift of Christ with those we love and more importantly those who may need to hear the message of Christmas the most. Those who exist on the fringes of society, cast in darkness, living in loneliness, those without the love of family, without shelter or food for it is when we seek and aid them that we are truly sharing Christ with the world.  This is precisely what Jesus is asking us to do in his message today.  He wants us to be serving Him and reflecting His love for us as we serve others. 

Preparing for his return is about being active in our faith.  We are not to be in fear of the time he is to return.  We are not to be worried about the hour because we cannot plan or adjust for it—we can only be ready. 

Here are three things I would ask you to consider doing during this Lenten season:

1.       Make time for God. Ask when today will I make time for Christ?

In your busy day, where can you set aside just fifteen minutes to reflect on how God is working in your life?  You may find time in the early morning before your day begins, on your lunch hour, on your commute to or from work or, as for me, at the end of the day before you fall off to sleep.  But do it, find fifteen minutes in your day to be with Jesus in prayer, in Bible study or simply in quiet time of reflection.  It might be a great time to ask him to open your eyes to opportunities to do the next two things I am going to ask you to do. 

2.       Ask how can I be a witness for Jesus today?

Be open for opportunities which may come to you in your daily life.  Opportunities where you can share Jesus with someone?  Is there someone at work or who you know who needs to know or be reminded of Jesus?  Talk with them, encourage them, simply be yourself and let them know you are thinking of them and you care about their concerns.  We often fear coming across as pious or “churchy” if we try to approach people with “religious talk”.  That is not what I am talking about here.  What I am asking is that you simply express care and concern for others as a reflection of the care and concern Jesus has for you.  Simply be Christ to others. 

3.       And finally ask where am I called to serve God?

OK, you didn’t think I was going to get through a message without talking about mission and ministry.  During the Advent season I would ask you to consider where God is asking you to use your gifts to glorify him.  How can you use your talents to make a better church, a better world and a more fulfilled you as you answer God’s purpose for your life?  After all it is God’s expectation that we will be busy in his Kingdom, doing his work with the best we have when he comes for us.  

I am reminded of the popular axiom, “Live every day like it is your last.”  What exactly does that mean?  For many it means living in great indulgence. For others it may mean fixing all the mistakes of their past.  For still others it may mean being with those they love.  In our Gospel today we are told to be ready for his coming by spending our time in service, in taking care of his people, and in doing His work. For as our Gospel today explained, ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. 

Please pray with me. 

Gracious God, as we enter this season of Advent, this time of preparation we pray that you will rest on each of us as we contemplate the coming of the Christ child. 

Give us quiet time each day to allow us to reflect on the true meaning of the season and your purpose for our lives.

Motivate each of us to be in service to you and a reflection of your love for us in our daily lives.  

Open our eyes to the needs of others and to where we may be Christ to those who need to hear the words of salvation.   

Allow us to identify and utilize the gifts you have given us to your service.  We pray all of this in the name of Jesus.  Amen